Enterprise software provider Epicor Software Corp. claims it has redefined the user interface with its recently shipped Vantage 8.0, whose service oriented architecture (SOA) supports the requirements of modern manufacturers with built-in workflows managing the entire order cycle and global delivery of real-time information.
According to Paul Farrell, Epicor's vice president of research and development, previous versions of Vantage had a client-server architecture, which executed business logic and the user interface together. Earlier versions also didn't allow for a broad range of connection modules and only delivered information across low bandwidth networks.
Vantage 8.0's advantage over previous versions, Farrell told Managing Automation, is its utilization of SOA, which allows business logic to be separated out and encapsulated as a self-contained service that is available for use by any type of client software. Also, Vantage's smart client user interface, Microsoft Visual Studio.NET, has the power and flexibility of a Windows client, with intuitive user interface manifolds, and a capability to be deployed over a wide area in a manner similar to a cellular network, he said.
Farrell emphasized that Epicor is the first software developer to build an SOA on Microsoft.NET, though other companies are taking advantage of the concept by using .NET components to create application servers. But these companies, he said, are not using Web services nor an SOA, and haven't written the presentation layer in the C Sharp language like Epicor has done. This approach enables customers to model and manipulate the system to suit their own requirements without having to customize any code.
Prior to the release of Vantage 8.0, Epicor counted approximately 1,600 customers using its Vantage product line, said Farrell. The company has gained about 600 new customers in the past year, but could not say how many are exclusive to Epicor. The company was unable to supply a customer to talk about Vantage 8.0 by press time